The Apartment
The Building
Culture and traditions
The department has a mix of old and new with the mountainous regions holding on fiercely to their traditions and way of life and the Cosmopolitan City of Clermont Ferrand rapidly developing as a centre of art and history, embodying the old but embracing the new with vigour!
In the mountain regions farming and food production such as the famous Saint Nectaire cheese are still carried out in the traditional ways. Auvergne folk dancing is still practiced and is often demonstrated for visitors during the summer months. Many areas still hold traditional fetes or 'Foires' which display and sell regional products in keeping with the seasons.
The traditional Autumn Foires are extremely sociable occasions which go on all weekend with music and dancing and they are often named after the seasonal crops with an abundance of apples, walnuts and many other fruits and vegetables. Some notable Foires are San Saturnin, Neschers, Ludesses and the Summer 'Journees de Saint Nectaire' held over two days in June every year.
Wine is traditionally made from grapes grown on the plains around Clermont Ferrand and many museums show the ways in which the Auvergene Wine Producer has struggled against the elements to produce wines worthy of note such as Cotes d'Auvergne, Saint Pourcain and Cotes de Forez.
